Last Call
by originalallisaacs
Summary: Sequel to Vanity. It had been one year since Jules left Caroline for dead in an alley. One year since she completed Ghostly Echoes and one year since falling for her sometimes irritating boyfriend Klaus. With a new script to memorize, Caroline isn't worried about anything but her career and her sanity, but her nightmares are impossible to avoid when they become reality.
1. Chapter 1

Sequel to Vanity! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters from The Vampire Diaries.

* * *

Her face is covered in blood and she can feel her heartbeat thundering inside of her chest. Her bones ache throughout her entire body and her skin is on fire from the cuts and bruises. She hears groaning – hers and someone else's – and she feels panic begin to slide into her nerves and limbs. She's tense, on edge, and terrified of the figure slowly moving down the staircase toward her.

"Are you going to kill me?" she whispers, feeling her strength slip away from her body. "I don't want to die."

The figure is silent as it circles her. The darkness forms a barrier around the body while it twists and turns, a shadow with a physical form that creates a terror so strong it steals the breath from Caroline's lungs.

"You ruined everything," the shadow whispers furiously. "Everything!"

Silent sobs wrack her body as she strains against the chains that hold her. The metal bites into her skin and metallic red runs from the slices in her wrists. A pool quickly forms around her that only seems to grow in size as Caroline's energy is pulled from her body.

"I didn't -," she begins, shaking her head to clear the fog at the edges of her vision. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes," the voice says, coming closer. The light illuminates the figures profile and Caroline realizes she's looking into the bloody and decaying face of Jules. "You did."

* * *

With a deafening scream, Caroline is ripped from her dream and into reality, body shooting straight forward in bed as she furiously pulls air into her burning lungs.

"Caroline?" Klaus asks, his voice scared. "Are you all right, love?"

She's okay.

She's alive.

She's awake.

"I'm fine," she whispers brokenly. "I'm just – it was a nightmare."

Klaus sighs. "Not another one."

Caroline can only nod for she is too weak to continue speaking. Her body goes lax and she falls back into Klaus' embrace as they snuggle together in bed, his body wrapped around hers as a shield.

"Should I call Dr. Pierce in the morning?"

She wants to say no. She wants to say she doesn't need a damn therapist anymore.

"I'll do it."

Klaus clenches his jaw and holds onto Caroline, her body slowly overcoming the need to tremble.

"I've got you, sweetheart," he tells her, tightening his hold. "I won't let you go."

As she licked her lips, Caroline could feel a tear slide down her cheek to be absorbed in the pillow underneath her head. She wished that Klaus' arms could chase away the nightmares. She wished his hold on reality was enough to make her forget the torture she'd suffered.

It had been an entire year since Jules had tried to kill her. It had been one year, one movie premiere, and another movie deal since she'd been brutally beaten in an alley and then held hostage in a basement. She'd survived an ordeal most would not have walked away and lived to tell about.

Then why did it feel as if she hadn't won at all?

The dreams started the night she was rescued. As she lay in her hospital bed with Klaus by her side, she could hear voices coming from outside of her room. Hushed voices – secretive voices. She remembered Elijah and Elena coming to visit her, as well as Kol and Bonnie. She remembered watching the four of them disappear into the hallway to grab a bite in the cafeteria. It had seemed like only moments had passed since then but she could feel a charge in the air that spoke of hours.

"_Hello_?" she'd called, pulling her hand from Klaus'. He'd fallen asleep beside her in the chair.

No one had answered her call and she remembered feeling the stirrings of panic rise in her throat.

"_Hello_?" she had tried again.

Still no answer.

Slipping off of the bed, she'd felt the cold tiles underneath her feet as she tiptoed to the door and quietly pulled it open. The hallways, as well as the nurse's station, were completely deserted.

"_Please, somebody answer me_!" she'd cried out, desperately.

"_Hello, Caroline_."

With a sob, Caroline had whirled around to find Jules standing just behind her with a scalpel clenched tight within her fingers.

"_Time to finish what we started, don't you think_?"

The memory pulled fresh tears from her eyes that soaked her pillow and she curled tighter into herself and into Klaus, feeling his arms constrict around her in his sleep. It had been four months since the last nightmare – or night terror as her therapist had called them.

Dr. Pierce could help her, could she? Elena had recommended she seek therapy after the entire ordeal, and it just so happened that Dr. Pierce was Elena's twin sister. Married to a pediatrician who worked at the local children's hospital, Dr. Katherine Pierce came highly recommended by the state and the hospital that treated Caroline for her injuries. It seemed like an easy way to help get her through the post-traumatic stress as well as hold off the questions of her sanity.

The paparazzi had made a habit of splashing her name across every tabloid, and the question was always the same: _"How is Caroline Forbes dealing with her near death experience?"_

_Just fine_, she thought. _If you called waking up in the dead of night and screaming like a banshee 'just fine.'_

With heavy lids and a heavy heart, Caroline succumbed to the pull of sleep. She knew that the dreams only happened once a night and she was safe to return to slumber, but she was still on edge. Jules laughing face hid behind her eyelids and she couldn't escape the leering laughter when the room grew too quiet.

She couldn't escape her torment even in unconscious.

* * *

When she finally opened her eyes to greet the waking sun, Caroline realized a few things at once: one, she had slept far later than she had meant to and two, she was alone. She sat up and watched the yellow sheet flutter down her bare chest to pool in her lap as she turned to look at the empty half of the bed beside her.

"Hmm," she murmured, smiling. There was a note on the pillow.

_Love,_ it read. _I've stepped out for some coffee and a biscuit. There are fresh grapefruits in the refrigerator for you and I took the liberty of making your brown water. I love you and I'll see you after my meeting with Elijah._

"Brown water, my ass. Coffee is coffee no matter how strong it is. I prefer mine to wake me up. You, however, prefer yours to be able to kill a damn cow."

Rising from the bed, she tossed the note back onto the mattress and stretched her arms languidly above her head. The sheet lay discarded on the floor and she walked through her bedroom without a shred of clothing on, relishing in the bright morning and chill in the air. Goosebumps rose on her arms and she shivered before stepping into the bathroom and turning on the water for the shower, making sure it was scalding before stepping underneath the spray.

The hotter the water, the cleaner Caroline felt. The less…tainted. She refused to let her dreams taint her consciousness.

After her shower, she left the comfort of her bathroom and dressed quickly in a pair of black slacks and a silk lavender shirt. A matching lavender sash tied around her waist and she quickly slipped her black pumps onto her feet before grabbing her large purse and heading to the kitchen.

After the last attack at her home, Caroline had moved in with Klaus while Kol moved in with Bonnie. The two of them shared the home that Caroline had originally purchased, canoodling in their post-marriage bliss while Caroline and Klaus savored the quiet sanctity of their penthouse apartment.

Caroline's heels clicked against the hardwood floors as she walked into the kitchen, grabbing a cup for her coffee and a grapefruit from the refrigerator. The answering machine that sat on the counter was flashing red, signaling a new message.

"Oh, go away," she grumbled, plopping her cup onto the counter. "Please."

"_Caroline_!" Dr. Pierce's voice rang loudly from the machine. "_Call me crazy, but I got a weird feeling that you might need to talk. Call me and we'll set up a time for you to come in for a consultation!"_

Caroline sighed and shut her eyes tight against the growing headache. Today was going to be a long day.

_**RING**_.

With a quick jump, Caroline slammed her hand down onto the receiver of the telephone and lifted the offending noise maker to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Caroline?" Elena asked, her voice concerned. "Are you all right?"

Was she?

"I'm…stressed."

"About the reading? It's going to be all right, just focus. Ghostly Echoes did amazing and this director is just as well accredited as Ric. Just – just go to the reading, try your hardest, amaze them, and then we can get together for a glass of wine this evening. Deal?"

Caroline wasn't quite sure when she'd become a _wine this evening_ type of girl, but she missed when cracking open a beer and sitting in front of the television was the fun thing to do.

"Umm, how about tomorrow? I didn't sleep well and I have to make an appointment with Katherine and this reading and everything is just…piling. I need to rest."

Elena sighed. "All right. Let me know if you need anything."

With a murmur of agreement and a smile, Caroline hung up the phone and set it back in its cradle. Taking a deep breath, she finished the rest of her coffee and wrote a quick note to Klaus before placing her cup in the sink and tossing the grapefruit into her bag. She put the lightweight black cardigan on over her satin shirt before ringing the elevator button and waiting for it to arrive.

*line break*

"Caroline, I'm so glad you're here! We're running a little behind schedule but your script it ready and waiting for you inside of your trailer. The board room is just inside of the building and off to the right – it's the first door. We'll be meeting in a half hour, so run through your script, get a feel, and then we'll set this party in motion!"

Jenna Summers, the director of her new movie adventure, was absolutely too excited for the early hour of the morning. It was 9:30 and Caroline felt every bit as awake as she had felt before going to bed – not at all.

"Okay!" Caroline replied brightly, her usually bright smile dimmed by her need to rest. "That sounds great!"

Jenna smiled. "Caroline, I'm very glad that you chose to audition for this part. You were who we envisioned for the part and seeing you walk through those doors was a godsend. I – I was going to ask you to be a part of the movie…but I didn't know how you'd like that since…well since what happened…"

Jenna trailed off and Caroline nodded in understanding. "I – yeah, it was a tough year. But I'm okay now and I'm doing better and everything is fine. I'm fine, and I am more than excited to do this movie! It'll be an interesting experience."

The two women smiled at each other and Jenna lightly touched Caroline's arm before leaving Caroline outside of her trailer. She heaved a sigh and walked inside the small trailer quietly, shutting the door with a soft click before dropping down in the makeup chair to pick up the script sitting on the table.

The title of the film was scrawled atop the paper in Halloween inspired handwriting, and Caroline felt a shiver run down her spine.

**Night Terrors**

"Hmm," Caroline snorted. "How appropriate."

With the time she had before the reading, Caroline skimmed through the script to see the changes that the writers had made since she'd last received a script. The writers were always changing details – names, dates, ages, locations, and she was finally getting the finished and polished copy.

"20 minutes!" someone yelled just outside of her trailer.

"Okay, Caroline," she said to herself, looking at her reflection. "You are not what happened to you. You are a survivor. You survived. You can do this. You're an actress and you have an incredibly successful movie under your belt, you can do this. It's not real."

With a deep sigh and one final sip of the now cold coffee she'd snagged on her drive, Caroline stiffened her back and grabbed the script off of the table, throwing the trailer door open and stepped into the sun.

* * *

I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter! I want to thank my beta _Stephanie_ a.k.a. _**klarolinedrabbles**_** dot **_**tumblr**_** dot **_**com**_! She did a great job and was speedy to boot ;]

Please review and let me know what you think!

Also, follow me on tumblr at _**originalallisaacs**_** dot **_**tumblr**_** dot **_**com**_ for updates, playlists, and sneak peeks!

Love to you all!


	2. Chapter 2

Caroline and he co-stars sat in the first board room just inside of the set warehouse as they waited for Jenna to join them for the first cast reading. Caroline was sitting beside Andrew Rice, the man who would play alongside her as the second main character of the film.

"Hello, it's nice to finally meet you," he said, reaching out his hand to shake.

He had dark brown eyes that seemed to be black in the right lights and they were surrounded by black lashes. Equally dark hair covered his head and his face in a light shading of scruff and Caroline felt her insides flutter with butterflies. Sure, she had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who was exceptionally attractive, as well. But she was allowed to appreciate a man for his looks, wasn't she?

"Yeah, it's great to meet you, too!" Caroline beamed. "Caroline."

"Andrew," he responded, pumping her hand twice.

"Oh, good, you've introduced yourselves!" Jenna entered the room with a large smile on her face, her strawberry blonde curls bouncing. "Andrew, Caroline, this is the rest of the cast and crew. I realize some of you know each other already, but I wanted to make sure everyone was introduced.

As you all know, Caroline and Andrew are playing Anya and Charlie – the two main characters whose night terrors give the movie its name. Now, I'm going to give you all a brief synopsis of the movie, although you should know it by now. Okay, here goes: when Charlie and Anya notice that they have control over their dreams, it's as if an entire new world has been opened up to them. Lucid dreaming is a mystical and yet terrifying feat that few have been able to accomplish. The ability to control ones unconscious can have consequences, consequences that can be deadly. When Charlie and Anya's subconscious begin to grow out of control – when a powerful foe seems to find them no matter where they hide – they are desperate to remain awake. What happens when their nightmares follow them while they're awake? What happens when forcing yourself to stay awake makes the night terrors follow you into your consciousness?"

Andrew seemed confused. "So, I mean, I read the script and I know what's going on, but what kind of foe is it? This is really Nightmare on Elm Street-esque."

"It's similar to that, yes, but it's different. The foe isn't a ghost or a physical apparition of someone that used to be alive. Technically, he'd be considered a dream sorcerer. He's the controller of dreams and he gets alerted when dreamers are lucid dreaming – rather, when they have control over their dreams. He's not allowed to interfere in the dreams of the humans, but when they begin to lucid dream, he can step in and change them. _Hurt_ them. He becomes the dreamer."

"So, the dreams start out normal like 'Oh shit, I can fly, I must be dreaming' type of stuff and then when this dude realizes what happening he can pop in and be like 'Nope, it's my dream now, bitches." Andrew was grinning once he'd finished and Jenna rolled her eyes in his direction, nodding.

"In…kinder terms, yes, that's precisely what it's like."

Andrew looked excited and Caroline knew great potential when she heard it, but the idea of working on a movie that was all about dreams coming to life freaked her out in ways she couldn't fathom. She took a deep breath through her nostrils and let it out slowly from her lips, trying to be as quiet as possible so as to not bring attention to herself and her anxiety.

"Does anybody have any questions before we begin?" Jenna asked, looking at Caroline who she realized had gone very quiet.

Caroline smiled at her and shook her blonde curls. "Nope, all set and ready to go!"

Jenna seemed convinced enough and Caroline was happy she'd bought it.

If only she could have convinced herself the same.

* * *

When the script reading was over, Caroline walked back to her trailer with Andrew in tow, his trailer sitting right beside hers.

"I'm glad this movie isn't like…a Freddy Krueger knock off."

There were a few things that Caroline had realized about Andrew. One: he said like a lot. Two: he had the personality of a teenage boy, and three: he was incredibly irritating for someone so attractive.

"Yeah, that would have been…horrible."

"It would have been illegal, that's for sure. You can't just rip off Freddy Krueger!"

She inwardly rolled her eyes and stopped at Andrew's trailer, motioning for him to go on inside.

"It was great meeting you, Andrew, but I – uhh – I have a doctor's appointment so…"

"Oh, yeah! Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Caroline!"

She watched that great body and beautiful dark hair rush inside the tiny trailer and she felt more than just relief when the door shut behind him. She was excited that he'd left so eagerly. Being in the company of someone so young at…_brain_…was exhausting.

Sure, she wasn't much older than him, but she'd been through enough in her young life to have lived a thousand times over. Besides, she wasn't entirely lying when she said she had to go see the doctor.

After walking back into her trailer, Caroline picked up her phone off of the makeup table where she left it and checked her messages. Two texts from Klaus and one from Bonnie.

**Klaus:** _Hello, darling. Good luck at your reading Xx_

**Klaus:** _I purchased some of that delectable champagne for dinner. You know the kind; I do believe you said it felt like silk on your skin. I shall see you tonight, love._

Klaus' text made her blush and she bit her lip, remembering very clearly the type of champagne he was speaking of. Finally, she scrolled to Bonnie's text.

**Bonnie:** _I miss you, C. Call me soon. Have lots to tell you about the after honeymoon experiences ;]_

Caroline felt her heart swell in her chest at Bonnie's text. About 6 months ago, Kol had asked Bonnie to marry him and she'd said yes, solidifying Caroline's moving in with Klaus and Kol into their duplex. The couple was engaged for 5 months and had married in the Caribbean one month ago to the day and they returned from their honey moon one week ago. Caroline hadn't had the chance to see Bonnie and she was missing her very much. A trip to visit her best friend was definitely in order.

With a sigh, Caroline shot both Klaus and Bonnie a text saying that she'd call them when she got home for the day. She went to her contacts and scrolled through them until she got to Dr. Pierce's number and pressed call.

"This is Dr. Pierce speaking, how may I help you?"

"Katherine, this is Caroline returning your call from this morning."

"Oh, Caroline!" She sounded genuinely happy to hear from her. "How are you?"

Caroline sighed. "I'm…having dreams again. Well, I had _one_ dream last night. It was horrible and I'm just – I'm just afraid that they're starting again and I'm just about to start shooting a new movie and I – "

"Breathe, Caroline. Why don't you come in and see me today? This is the day I usually keep open just in case someone has an immediate emergency. Stop by and we'll talk, okay?"

"Yeah," she said, sighing. "I'll be there in about an hour."

* * *

Dr. Pierce's office always smelled the same to Caroline – sterile and not at all comforting. She trudged through the main doors of the building and walked straight to the front desk, telling the receptionist about her impromptu appointment.

"She's not busy, just go on in," the woman behind the desk said without even glancing at her.

The door was open a crack and Caroline knocked gently before pushing it open more. Katherine Pierce looked up at her and Caroline was instantly taken aback, just like every time before. Katherine was Elena's twin sister so a T – both of them having absolutely identical features: the same dark brown eyes and beautiful olive skin. The only difference between the two sisters was Elena's hair had taken on a brassy quality and hung just above her shoulders, whereas Katherine's russet brown locks hung low on her back and curled into ringlets all around her face.

"Caroline!" Katherine beamed, rising from her seat to offer a warm hug. "It's so good to see you! How have you been? How's the movie?"

Katherine's unique style of counseling was to chit chat first and then discuss problems second, so Caroline went along with Katherine and told her about Night Terrors and her cast.

"The guy who plays lead beside me is sort of…" How did she put it? "Young at heart."

Katherine snorted and nodded, looking down into her lap as she did. "Sounds charming. Well, I might as well ask: do you think this movie is what has you dreaming about Jules?"

Caroline shrugged. "It's possible. I had the dream last night and the first day of read through was today. I guess it could have just been nerves but…it just felt so real. Too real."

"Jules is in prison," Katherine told her. "She's not going to get out of prison anytime soon, either. Everything she did to you is going to keep her behind bars for a very long time."

"But she pleaded insanity," Caroline argued, her tone rising. "That right there is going to get her fewer years."

"Less years in prison and more years in a psych ward, Care. Listen, you don't have to worry about her. She's not going to get anywhere near you ever again. She's in prison; Mason is also in jail for…assisting. Neither of them have any way of getting out unless they escape, and let me just tell you; they're both under such heavy security that the likelihood of that happening is none. Not slim to none, just none."

Caroline laughed lightly and shrugged a shoulder, her heart fluttering at the idea. "Let's not talk about them escaping."

Katherine sighed deeply and reached out a hand to Caroline. "Care, you know I'm always here if you need to discuss these things. However, in my opinion, your nightmare stemmed from your nerves about today. Even if you were just doing a straight forward rom com, you'd probably still give yourself bad dreams. Try and remember if you had bad dreams or nightmares when you were beginning the read through and shooting of Ghostly Echoes."

Caroline tried to think back to those times and realized that her memories of pre-Ghostly Echoes were hazy and patchy at best. The damage done to her body from the beginning of her first movie to her new movie had made remembering such small details nearly impossible.

Just to please her, Caroline nodded. "Yeah, yeah I think I had nightmares then, too."

"See!" Katherine shrugged and smiled encouragingly. "It's normal! Completely normal! Now, I want you to go home, relax, and read through your script if you want, but mainly relax. Take a bath, drink some wine, and hang with your man."

_Her man_.

"That sounds like a great idea," Caroline agreed with a sigh. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice; I really appreciate it."

"You can always call me," Katherine told her, rising.

"I will. Thanks, again."

With a little bit of weight lifted from her chest, Caroline decided to call it quits on the rest of the day and just go home and do exactly what Katherine said: relax. Caroline walked out of the doctor's office and to her car, hopping behind the wheel and pushing the key into the ignition. With alarm, the car began to emit a high pitched beeping, startling Caroline and making her heart thunder in her chest.

"Jesus," she whispered to herself as she put a hand to her chest.

The beeping alarm quit shrieking at Caroline long enough for her to realize it was from the fact that her car was nearly empty of gas. The meter was in the red, stating that moving her car was going to be impossible.

"Dammit, I just filled the tank! How in the hell is it empty?"

With an annoyed grumble, Caroline dug through her purse and called information in search of the nearest car repair station. She called the station and requested a tow truck and a speedy, secretive transport.

When she hung up, Klaus named flashed onto the screen of her iPhone and she sighed in relief, pressing answer.

"Hey," she said, leaning her head back against the rest.

"_What's wrong, love_?" he asked without greeting her. "_You sound upset_."

"I'm annoyed. I filled the tank before I went to my reading and I've literally only gone to one other place and its empty. Completely empty. _In the red_ empty. I had to call a tow company to come and get me so I can take it to a mechanic and see why the gas leaked."

"_It leaked out_?"

"Yeah, seriously stupid. Let me – let me just check and see how big this puddle has to be."

Caroline discarded her pumps in the passenger seat and hopped out, bending onto her knees to see underneath the vehicle. To her surprise and confusion, there was no puddle of gas.

"Huh," she murmured, standing back up and sliding into the car. Clicking the locks into activity, she looked around the lot and surveyed the people. "Well, I guess maybe I just never filled it. I must have not filled it and just thought I did."

"_Why do you say that_?" Klaus wondered. She could hear him riding the elevator up to their loft and her heart softened.

"There's no puddle or gas on the ground. It's dry. I stopped to get myself a cup of coffee and must have just forgotten to get gas."

"_But you said you got it_."

"I was tired; it's completely possible that I tricked myself into believing I got it so I didn't have to make another stop. You know me and my tired brain."

She could hear Klaus grinning on the other end of the phone when he chuckled. "_Your scatter brain only makes me love you more. Would you like me to pick you up from the mechanic?"_

Caroline smiled lovingly and watched the tow truck appear beside her. "No, that's fine; I'll just wait until the car works. If it gets too late, I'll give you a call."

"_All right, sweetheart. I'll see you when you get home. I love_ _you_."

"I love you, too," she said softly before hanging up and dropping the phone into the passenger seat alongside her shoes.

She adjusted her clothing before stepping out of the car once more and addressing the man behind the wheel of the tow truck.

"Hi! I think I just ran out of gas. Do you think you could tow me to the nearest gas station?"

Paul, his name tag read, nodded twice with a smile. "Sure thing, miss. You sure it's just empty?"

Caroline nodded back and then watched as he hooked her car to his by a hook.

"You'll need to ride with me in the cab, if that's all right. You should get your things from the car if you need them."

"Okay!"

She jogged lightly to the passenger door of her car and pulled it open, grabbing her shoes, purse, and cell phone from the seat. As she grabbed her purse, a feeling of dread overcame her at the sight of a thin, shiny piece of paper came fluttering from the bag. She reached with shaking fingers to unfold a receipt and she swallowed hard, eyeing the tower from the corner of her eye and she quickly crumpled the receipt and shoved it back into her purse.

The receipt wasn't for the coffee she'd hurriedly grabbed before her reading like she thought it would be. It was for the 12 gallons of gas she had convinced herself she hadn't purchased that morning.

* * *

**_Please review_**! Thank you to my beautiful beta Stephanie! For more information, spoilers, and sneak peeks, follow me at **originalallisaacs** _**dot**_ **tumblr** _**dot**_ **com**!


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